Decreasing cognitive load for novice EFL learners: Effects of question and descriptive advance organizers in facilitating EFL learners’ comprehension of an animation-based content lesson Huifen Lin * , Tsuiping Chen Applied English Department, Kun Shan University, 949 Da-Wan Road, Yung-Kang City, Tainan Hsien, 71003, Taiwan, ROC Received 16 October 2005; received in revised form 24 March 2006; accepted 19 April 2006 Abstract Cognitive load can be defined as the amount of mental effort that performing a specific task imposes on a learner’s cognitive system. It can be measured by the number of new concepts embed- ded in a learning task. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, with their limited English pro- ficiency and minimal entry knowledge of a subject matter, always find it incomprehensible or overwhelming to comprehend a content lesson delivered in English. This study investigated the effect of two types of advance organizers, e.g., question and descriptive advance organizers in enhancing EFL learners’ comprehension of an animation-based content lesson. Eighty-six EFL learners in a university of technology in Taiwan participated voluntarily in this study. After taking the reading comprehension subtest of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), students were randomly assigned to three treatment lessons: (1) an animated lesson; (2) an animation lesson embedded with question advance organizers; and (3) an animation lesson embedded with descriptive advance orga- nizers. The results showed that the question advance organizer is the most effective cognitive strategy to enhance EFL learners’ comprehension of the content-based lesson. No significant difference was found between animation alone and animation embedded with descriptive advance organizers with regard to students’ achievement. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 0346-251X/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.system.2006.04.008 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 6 2050 620; fax: +886 6 205 0995. E-mail address: huifen5612@yahoo.com.tw (H. Lin). System 34 (2006) 416–431 www.elsevier.com/locate/system SYSTEM